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Los Angeles and the surrounding area is home to a variety of
professional and collegiate sports. This FAQ will attempt to cover the
most prominent sports and teams, and will outline which times of the
year you can see each team play.

The NBA preseason (warm up / exhibition games that don't count toward
the final season standings) typically takes place during the first few
weeks of October, while the actual season itself takes place from the
end of October until the middle of April. NBA Playoffs begin shortly
thereafter, and continue until mid June.

Typically, pre-season and regular season schedules are announced
during the previous July, while playoff schedules are announced around
early April, but the actual playoff games to be played depends on a
variety of factors, including which teams are eliminated as the playoffs
progress. There is always a chance that neither the Lakers nor the
Clippers will be in the Playoffs. As a result, visitors who wish to be
in town to see a Lakers or Clippers game are best advised to consult
each team's respective pre or regular season schedule on that team's web
site, and to try and attend a pre or regular season game.

Basketball - College (NCAA):

There are several major college basketball teams in Los Angeles.

The Bruins of the University of California at Los Angeles, better known by its initials, UCLA (http://tinyurl.com/5vg7seb), plays at Pauley Pavillion on its campus in Westwood, about 20 minutes west of downtown LA.

The Trojans of the University of Southern California, better known by its initials USC (http://tinyurl.com/4hzbwux), plays at the Galen center on its campus, a few minutes south of downtown LA.

Finally, the Waves of Pepperdine University play at Firestone Fieldhouse on their campus in Malibu, CA, about 1 hour northwest of downtown LA.

College Basketball season runs from late October to early March. The
post season, which consists mainly of the NCAA tournament, often does
not involve these teams playing games in the Los Angeles Area.

Baseball - Professional - Major League Baseball (MLB):

There are two professional baseball teams in the Los Angeles area. They are the Dodgers (dodgers.mlb.com) who play in Dodger Stadium, located near downtown Los Angeles, and the Angels (angels.mlb.com), who play in Angels Stadium, located in Anaheim, about 1 hour south of central Los Angeles.

The baseball preseason (warm up / exhibition games that don't count
toward the final season standings) typically consist mainly of games
played outside of California, while the final pre-season games are
played between the Dodgers and Angels at Dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium at the beginning of April. The regular season then commences and runs through early October.

Typically, pre-season and regular season schedules are announced a
few months before the pre-season begins, while playoff schedules are
announced in late September, but the actual playoff games to be played
depends on a variety of factors, including which teams are eliminated as
the playoffs progress. And, there is always a chance that neither the
Dodgers nor the Angels will be in the playoffs. As a result, visitors who
wish to be in town to see a Dodgers or Angels game are best advised to
consult each team's respective pre or regular season schedule on that
team's web site, and to try to attend a pre or regular season game,

Ice Hockey - Professional - National Hockey Association (NHL):

There are two professional ice hockey teams in Los Angeles. They are the Kings (kings.nhl.com) and the Ducks (ducks.nhl.com).
The Kings play at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, while the
Ducks play at the Honda Center in Anaheim, about one hour south of
central Los Angeles.

The NHL preseason (warm up / exhibition games that don't count toward
the final season standings) typically takes place during mid to late
September, while the actual season itself takes place from the beginning
of October until the middle of April. NHL Playoffs begin shortly
thereafter, and continue until mid June.

Typically, pre-season and regular season schedules are announced
during the previous July, while playoff schedules are announced around
early April, but the actual playoff games to be played depends on a
variety of factors, including which teams are eliminated as the playoffs
progress. There is always a chance that neither the Kings nor the Ducks
will be in the playoffs. As a result, visitors who wish to be in town to
see a Kings or Ducks game are best advised to consult each team's
respective pre or regular season schedule on that team's web site, and
to try and attend a pre or regular season game.

Football (American / Gridiron) - National Football League (NFL):

Currently, there are no NFL teams that play in the Los Angeles area. However, the Chargers (www.chargers.com) play at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego,
about two and a half hours south of Los Angeles by car, also reachable
via the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train from Union Station in downtown
Los Angeles.

The NFL pre-season (warmup / exhibition games that do not count
towards the final season standings) typically takes place from
mid-August to early September, with the regular season running from mid
September to early January. Playoffs typically take place during the
remainder of January. However, in any given season, the Chargers may not
make the playoffs and can be eliminated any week. Therefore, visitors
who wish to be in town for a Chargers game should be sure to check the
pre and regular season schedule on the Charger's web site.

Football (American / Gridiron) - Collegiate (NCAA):

There are two major college football teams in Los Angeles.

The Bruins of the University of California at Los Angeles, better known by its initials UCLA (http://tinyurl.com/mjq5jk) , play in the Rose Bowl, located in Pasadena, about 20 minutes Northeast of downtown Los Angeles.

The Trojans of the University of Southern California, better known by its initials USC (http://tinyurl.com/qtax3j), play in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which is located adjacent to their campus, a few minutes south of downtown LA.

The college football regular season runs from late August / early September to late November or early December.

In addition, the Rose Bowl stadium (www.rosebowlstadium.com)
hosts an annual Bowl Championship Series game, known simply as the
"Rose Bowl", every new Years Day (or the following day when New Years
Days falls on a Sunday). Every fourth year, the Rose Bowl plays hosts to
the BCS National Championship Game, the week after New Years Day.

Soccer (Football) - Major League Soccer (MLS):

The Los Angeles Galaxy (www.lagalaxy.com)
play at The Home Depot Center in Carson, about 30 minutes south of
downtown Los Angeles. in addition to the LA Galaxy, Chivas USA also
plays their games in the Home Depot Center in Carson. Public transit is
limited to this arena from most parts of Los Angeles.

The Galaxy schedule runs from early March (when there is a preseason
game or two) to late October. Playoff games occur from late October to
late November.

Other Sports:

There are numerous other sporting events that happen in the greater
LA area around the year. There are, in fact, too many to list. A few examples
would be the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, which takes place every
April, AVP Pro Volleyball tournaments that occur in Hermosa and Manhattan Beach every year, and assorted tennis and golfing events in areas such as Palm Springs, around 2 hours east of Los Angeles.